This week, the Free Press is ranking the Best New Restaurants in metro Detroit. Stay tuned as we reveal two new dining spots each day until we ultimately reach the Detroit Free Press/Metro Detroit Chevy Dealers 2018 Restaurant of the Year.

Your first inkling that something special is afoot at M Cantina will likely come with an order that’s entirely routine elsewhere.

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DFP(Photo: DFP)

The chips are light, crisp and hot, as they should be. But it's the salsas that tip you off. They're delivered in more than a dozen individual squeeze bottles arranged by flavor profile, from traditional salsa blends to fruit-forward and oil-based varieties. All are made in-house.

Among more common selections, you’ll find avocado oil infused with chile seco, green mango with pineapple habanero, peanut sesame chipotle and — for serious heat heads — a few scorchers made with ghost and scorpion peppers.

It's usually a very good sign when a place is this serious about its salsas.

M Cantina is the unlikely product of chef and managing partner Junior Merino and his wife, Heidi. Merino was a rockstar mixologist in New York who designed cocktails for notable bars and restaurants, theme parks, cruise ships, airlines and — as an official ambassador of Mexican gastronomy and tourism — the country of Mexico. (Merino created the first official cocktail of Mexico.) The “unlikely” bit comes in when you find out that M Cantina, a “Nuevo Latino” street food restaurant in Dearborn, is halal and doesn’t serve a drop of alcohol despite having one of the most creative beverage programs around.

Back in New York, Merino ran a mixology lab where bartenders and enthusiasts could come and experiment with more than 3,000 individual ingredients. That penchant for complex flavor combinations and focus on high quality ingredients is also the ethos at M Cantina, although the tacos tend to be more stripped down.

While Merino’s goal is to elevate Mexican cuisine to the level found in Mexico City, Puebla and Oaxaca, his creations filter traditional ingredients through his singular point of view. This is not necessarily “traditional Mexican” and also includes some inspiration from the rest of Latin America, as evidenced by the Venezuelan arepas and Spanish papas bravas on the menu.

If Merino offers you dessert, you’d be wise to accept. The chef is constantly tinkering and changing the finishes to a meal, and this is where his creativity really shines. His cocktails are known to be fruit-forward and the same is true of his desserts. The number of ingredients he combines on one plate can be exhaustive, but the final product is always harmonious and visually appealing.

M Cantina is Merino’s first foray into metro Detroit’s dining scene, but the Mexican-born chef has big plans for the area and a desire to plant roots. How lucky for us he saw fertile ground in east Dearborn.

M Cantina Chef Junior Merino delivers his non-alcoholic raspberry mojito made with lychee, ginger beer and pineapple. The world-class mixologist gave up a high-profile career in New York City in exchange for a less stressful life in Dearborn. Mark Kurlyandchik, Detroit Free Press

M Cantina Chef Junior Merino spreads mole on a tlayuda -- a traditional Oaxacan flatbread. The world-class mixologist gave up a high-profile career in New York City in exchange for a less stressful life in Dearborn. Mark Kurlyandchik, Detroit Free Press

A non-alcoholic raspberry mojito from M Cantina in Dearborn. Chef/manager Junior Merino was a famous New York City mixologist and bartender before he traded his high-profile lifestyle for a quieter life in Dearborn. Mark Kurlyandchik, Detroit Free Press